State treasurer questioning hospital CEO salaries

The state treasurer, Dale Folwell, is continuing to press hospitals regarding their transparency and how they’re using funding.

This time, he’s looking at CEO salaries. His office released a 144 page report today, analyzing executive salaries across the state’s nine largest nonprofit health systems including WakeMed, Duke and UNC.

"Something's wrong with health care in this state," said Folwell.

Through records requests and analyzing public financial records, the report found that that these systems paid 11 current or former CEOs a total of $38.7 million in 2019 — which equated to enough money to pay more than 570 registered nurses. That's also the year that C-Suite executive pay surged.

"It has taken the hospital association 40 years to build up this cloud of secrecy and lack of transparency," he said. "This issue is pretty simple. Tell people what things cost and have the courage to tell people what you've earned."

The North Carolina Healthcare Association released a statement in response to the treasurer’s report pointing out several places, they feel, the report falls short like recognizing how systems stepped up during the pandemic.

“The report fails to provide important context on significant challenges facing health system and hospital executives," the statement reads. "Challenges that demand they act fast, think outside the box, make difficult and high-stakes decisions.”

While Folwell pointed out that these systems "enrich themselves," the group rebutted that boards choose salaries.

Folwell says his relationship with that association isn’t improving but he is hopeful they’ll increase their transparency when it comes to pricing and pay.

"We agree that doing right is rarely wrong and we're trying to figure out what's right and get it right, and keep it right."